Until Dawn
by jacklavigne
Summary: Piper can't wait until she's out of Litchfield but when she does leave, it isn't the way she planned, but nothing ever goes the way Piper plans, does it. OitNB zombie story, set after the season finale.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimers: No, none of the characters belong to me nor do I receive any payment for the writing of this fanfiction. This story is rating M for extreme violence, really bad language and sexual scenes. Oh and if you're not a fan of same sex relationships, why did you even press the link to this story, man? Close the page. _

_AN: Hey guys. Yes, this is a zombie story and I know there's already a few around for this fandom, but most of them have been abandoned or haven't been updated in weeks, so I thought I'd add my own. If you like it, then review it. If you don't, well, review it anyway and let me know. I'll get a kick out of it. Enjoy._

**Until Dawn**

**Prologue**

If I had known that my fifteen month sentence in Litchfield would turn out the way it has so far, I never would have self-surrendered. I would have fought with every ounce of strength in me to stay the fuck out of prison. I would have told Larry's dad that he could shove his ideas up his ass and I would have spent every cent I had to get a good lawyer who would fight for me and my freedom. I had been at Litchfield for less than six months and already I had been starved out, forced to live with my drug dealing ex-girlfriend, fallen back in love with said ex-girlfriend, been sent to the SHU, have my boyfriend on the outside write a column in the Times that alienated me from everyone in prison, break up with said boyfriend when he found out I was cheating on him, find out that the woman I loved named me and being told that she never wants to speak to me again because I was stupid enough to go back to the man that had I had planned on marrying before I came to this God forsaken place.

Then I did something so idiotic and so unlike me and beat the living shit out of Pennslytucky. Life couldn't get much worse, right?

Wrong.

Damn, I hate it when I'm wrong.

**Chapter One**

I sat in the snow, my body trembling as the last bit of rage seeped from my body and disappeared on the cold breeze. I pushed my hands into the snow, unwilling to look at my bruised and bloody knuckles that had created the mess before me. Tiffany's face was unrecognizable, looking like a piece of tenderized meat and I noticed with something like horror that she was completely still, her chest not moving with the slightest intake of air. The snow around her body was slowly melting and the hot blood that had flown from the fallen angel's wounds was melting away with it.

I sat there in what I could only assume was shock, unable to move even when the door was thrown open and Bennett and Fischer raced out, talking loudly into their radios. They both paused when they saw me, their eyes widening simultaneously as they took in the scene. I watched as if in slow motion as Bennett dropped his radio to the ground, reaching for the gun at his waist. My eyes widened in horror as he swiftly pulled it from its holster and pointed it at me. Instincts caused me to hold my hands up, shielding my face, having expected to be sent to the SHU or even Max, but to be shot for beating Tiffany's face into the ground? It seemed a bit much but I couldn't even force my mouth open to speak past my shock and complete terror. And I had always thought that Bennett was one of the nice, cool headed guards.

Fortunately, Fischer did the speaking for me as she reached out and grabbed the man's arm before he had time to pull the trigger. "Bennett, wait! Look at her! She's completely coherent, I don't think..."

"Fuck," Bennett breathed out shakily and I could only choke back a sob as he lowered his gun, taking in the scene with clear eyes. "Shit, Chapman, I'm sorry, I-"

"There's no time," Fischer uncharacteristically took charge, her face serious as she turned to me. "Chapman, you need to get inside and return to your bunk now. Officer Bennett and I will take care of inmate Pennsyltucky."

I could only stare at her with wide eyes until she sighed in exasperation, walking towards me and kneeling before me in the snow. "Piper, you really need to go inside, right now."

"B-but-" I stuttered, swallowing the lump in my throat. "It was self-defense! She attacked me, I swear!"

"I know. It's okay," Fischer reassured me and I watched from the corner of my eyes as Bennett knelt next to Tiffany's still form before picking her up in his arms carefully and carrying her body inside.

"I- I didn't mean to kill her. Am I going to the SHU?" I asked fearfully, tears welling in my eyes. I could feel panic building inside me at the thought of spending more time in that tiny room. "Healy... He was here, he didn't do anything! He's going to make them send me to Max. He wanted me to die."

Fischer's eyes widened at my words but she didn't say anything. Her light blue eyes shifted away from my face for a moment, only to stare at the ground besides me and I watched, bile rising in my throat, as she picked up the forgotten screwdriver that Pennsyltucky had knocked from my hand during our fight. I closed my eyes, cursing myself as I realized that I had just given myself at least another five years on top of my sentence. I was carrying a potential weapon and even using it during self-defense was no excuse. I was fucked.

So, you can imagine my surprise when I felt the tool being pressed into my hand.

"Piper, go inside and take this with you. Keep it in your jacket pocket, okay?" Fischer said softly, resting her hand on my shoulder as my fingers curled around the ice cold metal. "You're not going to the SHU or to Max, I promise. Just go back to your dorm and wait for instructions."

I stared at the screwdriver in my hand before looking up into Fischer's blue eyes. As the panic began to recede and my vision became clearer, I noticed for the first time the little bit of fear in her eyes, mixed with concern for me. With her help, I pushed myself to my feet, putting the screwdriver in my pocket but keeping my hand wrapped around the handle.

"Officer Fischer, what's going on?" I asked, my voice trembling as my limbs shook with cold and tension. I was confused and I wanted nothing more than a hot shower and a warm bed but Fischer's expression was beginning to worry me.

"You'll find out soon enough, inmate," Fischer said elusively before gesturing towards the door. I took one last look at her before walking back into the prison, almost completely forgetting my recent fight as I started to think about what could be possibly going on now.

So lost in my thoughts, I hardly even noticed that the halls were entirely empty. It was the almost complete silence that finally caused me to look up as I looked around for inmates and guards but it seemed as if everyone had just vanished. As I got closer to the dorms, the sounds got gradually louder and I could hear voices, but none were raised about a whisper. I had to walk through the Suburbs to get to the Ghetto and as I stepped into the dorm, everyone looked up from their conversations and stared at me. I wondered if they knew about my fight with Pennsyltucky and realized that if they didn't before, they knew something was up now, considering my jacket and prison shirt was covered in blood. Not to mention the red liquid that was dripping from my hands and onto the floor.

"Fuck, Chapman, what did you do?" Nicky seemed to be the first one to snap out of her shock, moving out of her cube and taking my hands in her own. She mumbled something under her breath before pulling me into her cube, pushing me down onto her bed before searching in her locker for something.

"Did the alarms go off?" I asked, ignoring the eyes I could feel from the other inmates watching us. "I didn't hear any."

"No, no alarms," Nicky said absentmindedly before she pulled a small package from her locker with a look of triumph. She quickly unraveled two bandages and processed to wrap my hands, her touch surprisingly gentle. "Now, seriously, what did you do?"

"I figured everyone already knew since everyone has been sent to their dorms," I said, finally looking up and meeting Nicky's eyes. She was quieter than normal and seemed to be lacking her normal sarcasm and wit. "I got in a fight with Tiffany."

Nicky raised her pale eyebrows as she stared back at me with her deep brown eyes. Finally, she made a noise in her throat as she nodded before returning to her wrapping. "I heard something about that from Taystee. Didn't think anything would happen though. Where's Pennsyltucky?"

"She's dead."

Nicky's entire body jerked in shock and moments after the words left my lips, the cubicle was surrounded by inmates, whispering loudly.

"You killed her?" Nicky said, her eyes wide as she ignored the people staring at us. "Why?"

"I think so," I whispered, my hands starting to shake. I felt a small bit of comfort when Nicky squeezed them in her own, despite the pain it caused me. I hardly even noticed as people started to sit down on the bed around me, my mind was lost in the memories of the last hour. "I- I didn't mean to. She came outside and attacked me and I knocked her down but I couldn't stop. I couldn't fucking stop, Nicky! I just kept hitting her and hitting her and there was blood everywhere and then Fischer and Bennett came out and Fischer gave me the screwdriver and what the fuck is going on?"

I knew I was babbling, my voice becoming higher and more hysterical with each passing second but it seemed as if my numbness was wearing off and panic was settling in. I heard shouts in the distance, guards yelling into their radios but I paid it no attention.

"Did she bite you?" I heard a low familiar voice from the doorway and my head snapped up to take in the form of Alex staring back at me intently. Her face was an emotionless mask but I could see emotions swirling in her grey eyes, was it concern? Concern for me? Why the fuck would Alex even care if the stupid bible basher bit me, of all things. Why was she even here?

"B-bite me?" I asked in confusion to which Alex nodded impatiently. She walked into the cube and took one of my hands and held it up before my eyes. The touch made my hand tingle and I couldn't even feel the pain as I watched her pale fingers wrap around my own.

"Yeah, did she try and bite you?" Alex asked more insistently, causing me to look away from our hands and up into her eyes. "Was she acting normal? Did she talk to you?"

"If you can call preaching about being God's right hand, yeah, she was acting normal," I said, finally pulling my hand from Alex's grasp. I felt the loss of her touch immediately but my heart was still hurting over her words to me earlier. "She said some things and I got... upset and I punched her… and then I punched her again."

The room went momentarily silent until Nicky nodded her head, patting my shoulder with her signature half smirk.

"Stick by me when we get out of here, Chapman," she said. "At least I won't have to watch my back with you there."

I looked up at the uncharacteristically nice words that came from her mouth but the meaning set in and I frowned. "When we get out of here? What the fuck are you talking about? I'm going to be sent to Max for sure, Nicky!"

"No, you ain't," Morello spoke up for the first time and I turned my head to look at her in bewilderment. Was it just me or did she look ashen? "We're not staying here, Chapman. We're getting the fuck out."

"W-what's going on?" I asked again, hoping that someone would finally answer my question. It was then that the background noise finally filtered through. Past the shouts of the guards, past the whispers of the inmates, I could hear the noises from outside. Litchfield was pretty far from civilization, so why could I hear a helicopter? Why could I hear screams that weren't the yells of guards, but terrified noises of human beings that were scared for their lives?

"Shit has hit the fan, man," Big Boo said, leaning in the door way. "And I for one would rather be out of here than locked in if the worlds ending."

"I ain't spending the apocalypse in prison," Nicky agreed, finally finished wrapping my hands. I stared at her with wide eyes, my eyes flickering between her and Alex who was still watching me with an unreadable expression. I was still trying to wrap my head around the fact that the dark haired woman had spoken to me, to check that I was okay.

Wait, the end of the world?

The apocalypse?

I hardly had a moment to think before the screams were suddenly louder, sounding as if they were right outside the prison.

"Zombies," I heard Morello say softly. "Who would have thought?"

The laughter bubbled up in my throat at Lorna's words and it was a maniacal, crazy sound. I knew at this moment that they must be playing a joke on me. There was no such thing as zombies, everyone knew that. I knew that I had pissed a lot of women off in this prison and I figured that this was there way of getting back at me. I continued to laugh, relieved at the feeling of my pent up emotions pouring out of me as I chuckled. Everyone stared at me, their expressions serious, though the corner of Nicky's mouth was turned up into a smirk as she watched me lose my mind.

My laughter finally died down and everyone continued to stare at me for a moment before going back to their whispering. Alex shook her head before turning away from me to look down the hall way. It was then that I realized that everyone was deadly serious, but zombies? They must have been informed wrong.

Nevertheless, I felt a ball of fear curl uncomfortably in my stomach.

"Nicky, come on," I said exasperatedly, running my fingers through my hair. "Tell me what's really going on."

"I already did, Chapman," Nicky grinned at me as she shoved things from her locker into a small bag. "It's the end of the fucking world and we are getting the fuck out of here. You coming? We could use the muscle."

"The end of the world?"

"Look," Nicky finally dropped her bag, turning to look at me. "When you left the Christmas Pageant, we got a call over the PA that we all had to return to our rooms. No biggie. But when we got in here, someone turned on their radio. Every fucking news station in America is talking about how a fucking hick in opened something toxic in a laboratory on the other side of the country. All the people there got really sick and then they died, right? But they didn't fucking stay dead."

"It was kept hush hush for about two weeks," Morello continued in a soft voice. "But then one of the staff in the hospital got bitten and tried to hide it in case it was contagious, y'know?"

"Which it was, of course," Nicky snorted in disdain, shaking her head.

"Yeah. One of these things bites you and that's it," Morello snapped her fingers. "Anyway, she went out on the street and apparently someone was taking a video on their phone when all of a sudden, the woman had a fit! People went over to check on her and when she came to, she started to try and eat them!"

I stared at Morello with wide eyes, unable to comprehend what she was telling me. The screams were getting louder with every minute that passed and as I looked away from Morello, I could see that the inmates were becoming restless. I stood up, walking slowly out of Nicky's cubicle and looking around me. People looked completely fucking terrified.

And it only got so much worse when the first gunshot sounded.

It was instant chaos as women started screaming and racing through the halls. I was jostled painfully in the crowd and tried to push my way through to B Dorm as women pushed past me and towards the doors that would lead outside. If it was the end of the fucking world, then I at least needed a change of clothes, didn't I? It was crazy what you thought of in a moment like this. There were no thoughts of my family or friends on the outside. All I could think of was that I needed my fucking running shoes if I was about to go outside with God damn zombies. I was almost out of A Dorm when I felt a hand grab my shoulder and I was suddenly pulled from a crowd and being pushed forwards towards the stairs that led to the visitation room. I tried to stop and turn back, but I felt _her _hold me in place, her hands on my shoulders as she whispered in my ear.

"Piper, we need to get out of here. They're all going the wrong way. Nicky and the girls are waiting for us in the visitation room; the guards are all gone and we're going to make a run for it."

"I- I don't-" I stuttered, feeling my entire body begin to shake with pure fear. Gun shots were sounding constantly now and I flinched at the screams of women throughout the prison. What was going on out there? "I-I-I can't. I need my shoes!"

"You have to," Alex said, her thumb rubbing my shoulder soothingly, being surprisingly gentle with me despite her words of anger towards me only hours ago. "I'll be right behind you the whole time. I'm not leaving you behind."

I turned my head, looking into her gray eyes at close range and feeling her warm breath on my cheek. She held my gaze for several moments until I finally nodded and started to move forward. She never strayed more than an inch away from me as we made our way quickly through the dark halls, screams echoing off the walls and ringing in my ears with every shaky step that I took. Finally, we got to the visitation room and I could see Big Boo picking the look on the door with Nicky telling her to hurry the fuck up before we became zombie food. The group consisted of mostly Suburban women. Other than Nicky and Big Boo, there was Morello, Red, Yoga Jones and a couple of girls from B Dorm, including Taystee and Poussey.

"What took you two so long?" Nicky said to us when we finally got there. "Did you two not lesbians stop by the chapel on the way? I can't blame you. If I'm gonna die, that's how I wanna go."

"Shut up, Nicky," Alex said, moving away from me to stand near the door as she inspected Boo's work. "What's taking _this _so fucking long?"

As the words left Alex's mouth, a click signaled the door unlocking, just as something heavy smashed into it from the other side. I watched as if in slow motion as the door was thrown open to reveal a man I didn't recognize, blood and gore dripping from his open mouth as he stared at us with rage and hunger filled eyes. I barely had time to scream before he was vaulting through the doorway, knocking down Big Boo and Alex and sprawling over their struggling forms.

My survival instincts kicked in the moment I heard Alex's terrified yell, her low voice muffled further by the heavy body covering her. I watched as the man leaned over her, a terrifying animalistic growl erupting from his throat as blood spilled from his mouth. My hand was swinging through the air before I even realized I had pulled it from my pocket, fingers wrapped tightly around the screwdriver. I immediately stabbed it into the man's neck, blood spraying from the wound as he lowered his head to bite Alex's shoulder.

And then I did it again and again and again.

"Shit, Chapman," Nicky breathed as Morello pulled me away from the now unmoving zombie, my hand still clenched around the screwdriver while Nicky kicked the body off Alex and Big Boo. The brunette immediately stood up, her entire body shaking as she stared at the man on the floor with wide eyes. Big Boo pushed herself up onto her hands and knees, breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

"Two people in one day, Chapman," Red muttered from behind Nicky, holding a large frying pan from the kitchen. "I'm glad you on our side."

"No shit," Big Boo murmured, wiping a few drops of blood from her face with a grimace. She gave me a nod of thanks as she finally pushed herself up from the floor, while I just stared at the man that I had killed in the blink of an eye. It had all happened so fast that I didn't even remember my body moving in to action. I had just killed someone, again.

Fuck, what was happening to me?

"Come on," Alex finally said after everyone regained their wits. "We need to get out of here before more of these things show up."

I felt Morello leading me out of the door behind Red and Nicky, the rest of the group trailing behind us. My heart was hammering in my chest as we strode quickly down the hallway, towards the double doors that would lead us into the outside world. I took a moment to think about the fact that I was actually leaving prison without even having to finish my sentence. In only moments I would be walking out of Litchfield Prison to hopefully never come back, when only an hour ago, I thought I'd never be leaving this place.

But what the fuck was I walking out into?


	2. Chapter 2

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Two**

The double doors were looming before us, the sounds of the outside world almost deafening as I watched Nicky slowly reach out her hand and grab the door handles. She pressed her ear to the door for a moment, listening intently for something before slowly pulling it open. I was immediately assaulted with sounds and smells and the incredible feeling of freedom as I looked down into the parking lot and towards the gates. Thankfully, the parking lot seemed to be empty and I could see the gate wasn't locked yet, giving us a way out.

We started to walk hesitantly out of the building and into the cold night air. I heard Alex let out a breath that sounded right in my ear and I turned my head to look at her face. Her eyes were wide and shining as she took in everything around her and I wondered how long she had been stuck at Litchfield for before I gave myself up. It felt amazing to be outside after less than six months of prison time. I could only imagine what it felt like for her and the rest of the women surrounding me, to be out after years of time locked away from the outside world. A smile over took my face, despite the dire situation we were in. I couldn't help but be happy for all us, despite the fact that there was a big chance that we wouldn't even make it through the night.

"Should we just run for it?" Big Boo asked, her eyes searching the car park. "What if someone sees us?"

"No one's gonna see us, there's no one here," Nicky assured her. "But, if we all start running, they'll sure as fuck hear us."

"Wait up, do ya'll hear that?" Poussey said, causing us all to stop dead in our tracks, straining to hear the noise. It only took me a moment to realize what it was before I looked up into the sky.

"Shit," I whispered, watching as a helicopter flew above us, choosing that exact moment to shine it's massive flood light down into the parking lot.

"Run!" Alex shouted immediately as our bodies were lit up by the light and everyone immediately turned into Olympic athletes. Watson was in the lead, her long legs leading us from the car park and towards the gates as the men in the helicopter started firing their weapons at us. Several women screamed as the ground was peppered with bullets all around us. I was second in front and I watched as Watson literally threw herself into the fence, throwing it open for the rest of us to rush past her. Rather than keeping to the road, I immediately turned and started running into the forest that surrounded Litchfield where I knew that the helicopter couldn't follow us.

I kept running, my heart hammering in my chest, too terrified to stop or even look behind me. I could still hear gun shots along with my own footsteps pounding on the ground as I pushed myself as fast as I could go. It wasn't until my legs were burning and my vision was starting to tunnel that I stumbled to a stop, leaning against a tree and panting heavily. Watson skidded to a stop a few feet away, hardly even breathing hard, though her eyes were filled with fear.

"Come on, Chapman," she said, moving closer to me. "Let's keep going; get as far away from that place as possible."

It was only then that I realized we were alone. Watson and I spent every day out on the track, running for miles and I should have realized that the other girls wouldn't be able to keep up with us. I looked up at Watson, feeling the urge to just keep going, to get as far away as I could, but I couldn't. My mind instantly turned to my family and friends. Where were my parents, Polly and Larry? Why hadn't they called me to let me know what was going on? Had they left the city to get away? Left the country? I lingered on those thoughts for a moment before my mind finally turned to Alex. She had come back for me when they were making their way to the visitation room to escape. I knew that she still probably hated my guts and just did what she thought was right by bringing me with them, but still. Even though she was probably glad that I had run in a different direction, away from her, I had to go back. Despite everything, I couldn't leave her behind.

I couldn't leave her, again.

"I can't," I finally said, looking apologetically at Watson. "You keep going; run until you can't run anymore or find a place to hide. I'm going back for the girls."

"Chapman, be serious," she said, grabbing onto my arms and looking into my eyes. "We left them way back. They could be dead right now, from the police or the zombies. Forget about them, we should keep going."

"All the more reason why I should find them," I replied insistently. "If they're dead, if Alex... I can't just forget about them."

I could see that she wanted to argue with me, to keep going on together. I knew that she had forgiven me since I got her thrown into SHU with the screwdriver incident and we were even sort of friends now. We spent a lot of time together, out on the track, even if it was in silence. I don't know if she wanted me to go with her because of all that or if she just didn't want to go on alone. Either way, I think she quickly realized that arguing would be futile; my mind was set and I was one stubborn bitch.

"Fuck," she cursed, shaking her head. "Fine, I'll stop at the first empty place I find and you fucking find me there, okay? With or without those girls. I'll be a fucking scout and make sure there ain't no fucking zombies around, aight?"

I couldn't help but smile at her, despite the circumstances. "All right."

She stared at me for another few moments, maybe waiting to see if I would change my mind before shaking her head and taking off. I watched her as she left, running effortlessly and dodging trees and roots that were sticking out of the ground. Once she was out of eye shot, I turned back the way we came and started jogging, listening for the sounds of my friends.

The woods were eerily quiet; the only sound was my footsteps as I made my way back towards Litchfield. I was trying to figure out which way the rest of the women went. Did they follow us into the trees, or did they stay on the road? If they stayed on the road, were they still even alive? No, they would be alive. They were smart and they would have hidden in the trees, away from the helicopter and the Litchfield guards who would search for us when they realized we were missing.

Or would they?

I knew that most of the guards that worked at Litchfield were complete scum, but Bennett and Fischer were good people. Would they stay and protect the inmates or would they let them go and give them a chance in the free world? I knew that if it was up to Healy, he would just lock the doors behind him and let the girls either starve or be eaten by zombies. Fucking asshole, what I wouldn't do to meet him in these woods so I could drive my screwdriver right into his f-

Fuck, I thought to myself, shaking my head at the thoughts swirling in my brain. What was wrong with me? Was I already turning into a zombie, with all of this violence? I felt so angry all of the time, I just wanted to hurt someone. Suzanne was right; I am not a nice fucking person.

All my petals are fucking wilted and dead.

I sighed softly to myself and slowed my legs to a walk, not wanting to tire myself out. I looked up at the night sky between the branches high above me, noticing the slow lightening of the sky. It felt like I had only run out of the gates an hour ago, but it had been at least six hours since we made a run for it. I wondered if Alex and the rest of them had kept going, somehow passing me by without me noticing. I had no sense of direction in here and for all I knew, I could have just spent the last several hours walking in the wrong direction.

My thoughts were cut off as I heard something in the darkness to my left. Despite the slowly lightening sky, the tall trees surrounding me kept everything in shadow and made it almost impossible to see. I immediately stopped all movement, my ears straining as I listened for any noise that would lead to me to my friends. I squinted into the darkness, listening intently until I heard the sounds of strained breathing. I hesitated for a moment, praying to a God I didn't believe in that I wasn't about to walk into a zombie. I walked cautiously towards the sound, hardly making a noise as I searched the woods.

And almost screamed as a frying pan came out of nowhere, heading straight for my face.

"Fuck!" I shrieked, dodging the kitchen appliance and dropping to the ground, raising my hands over my head. "Red, it's me! Chapman!"

I looked up to see Red breathing heavily, her eyes wide as she stared down at me, the pan forgotten in her hand. After a moment, she cracked a somewhat apologetic smile at me. "Thought you were one of the dead ones."

"No shit," I mumbled as women started to come out of their hiding places behind trees and bushes. I searched every one of their faces, noticing the ones that were missing. Half of the group was missing, leaving only Red, Yoga Jones, Taystee and Poussey staring back at me.

"W-where is everyone?" I managed to choke out past the massive lump in my throat. I could feel my panic building, searching the sad and apologetic gazes staring back at me.

"We lost 'em," Poussey said, shaking her head.

"They're dead?" I whispered, feeling my eyes well up with tears as my body started to shake. I knew Alex was a fast runner and I had felt her right behind me as I made my way out of the gates. How had I not felt the sting of the bullet hit her? Surely I would have known if she was truly gone; I would have felt it deep down in my heart.

"Hey, Blondie," I hardly felt it as Red grabbed my shoulder, shaking it gently. "Your girl is okay. We just ran in different directions, you know? All of us did, but they're out there."

_Oh thank fucking God. _

"Well, say that, next time!" I said testily, glaring at Poussey who gave me an apologetic shrug. I felt my heart slow from its painful pounding in my chest as I took a few deep breaths before gesturing back to the woods behind me. "Come on, Watson is scouting for us."


	3. Chapter 3

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Three**

"I don't think we really thought this through," I heard Poussey say in the complete silence as we walked through the forest. Our footsteps were careful and quiet as were listened for any noise in the woods surrounding us. It was now full day light and there were bright shafts of sunlight pouring through the foliage above us, lighting up the woods. We didn't want to alert anything else that could be in here with us.

"What you mean?" I heard Red ask, still wielding her frying pan.

"I mean, all of us are fucking convicted felons who have spent the last several years in prison," she replied. "What the fuck are we supposed to do if we run into any of the cops that I'm sure are fucking everywhere out there right now? Cause we ain't exactly going to fit in with our prison uniforms, y'know what I'm saying?"

I considered her words, having not even considered that possibility. It was true that we were all criminals, but right now, did the cops even care? They seemed to have more on their plates to care about a few nonviolent offenders. Hopefully, they'd just happy to have us help kick some zombie ass. Not that I'd be kicking any ass, cause God knows that I'm fucking running to the nearest deserted island and getting away from all this shit.

I quietly wondered to myself if Cambodia had been infected yet.

"They're not going to care," I said softly, stopping to peer into a particularly dark part of the forest before continuing on once I knew it was zombie free. "They won't even know who we are, especially when we find some clothes to change into."

"Hell yeah!" Taystee said with a grin. "I love me some shopping!"

"Especially shopping that you don't have to pay for," Poussey laughed, high fiving her friend. I couldn't help but smile, sparing a wistful thought for Polly and her friendship that I always missed so badly whenever I saw Poussey and Taystee together. I wondered again where she was but quickly pushed that thought away and quickly prayed to a God I didn't believe in that she was safe with Pete and their baby.

"So, Blondie, where you taking us?" Red asked me after a few moments of silence. "We've been walking for hours now."

I looked up into the sky, acknowledging the fact that we had indeed been walking for hours. I had found them at sunrise and it was now late afternoon. I had hardly any knowledge of the area but if I squinted into the distance, I could see that the light was getting brighter in front of us, which meant that our journey through the woods was almost over.

"Honestly? I have no fucking idea," I replied. "But we're almost out of here and there should be a city or a town nearby somewhere and hopefully we'll find Janae there."

We continued on quietly and I breathed out a sigh of relief when we stepped out of the trees and into the winter sunlight. I looked around me, noting that we were standing on top of a hill and that everything seemed quiet peaceful. It wasn't until I walked forwards and looked down that my heart stopped in my chest. Below us was a small town which looked like it might have once been quite nice but was now almost completely destroyed. Even from this distance, I could see broken glass reflecting the sunlight covering the roads. There were several shops and houses that were nothing more than burnt out husks and I had to turn away at the bodies that lined the sidewalks, surrounded by blood and body parts.

"Shit," Poussey whispered from next to me, her eyes wide with disbelief and horror at the view. Red's face was tense and her lips were turned down at the corners while Taystee just stared with her jaw slack. Even Yoga Jones eyes lost some of their peace and reflected her horror at the scene. "They all dead."

"Come on, girls," Red said after taking a deep breath. "We can find some clothes and move on. We don't want to be there long if those people start waking up, dead."

I nodded, following Red down the mildly steep slope with Taystee and Poussey following behind us in somber silence and Jones guarding our backs. It took us just over half an hour to reach the edge of the unnervingly quiet town, though I still strained to hear any noise other than the wind. We walked through the streets, moving quickly but quietly as we searched for a shop that would provide us with clothes and food. I flinched when I stepped on a piece of broken glass, the crunch echoing in the silence. I looked up quickly and saw out of the corner of my eye as one of the lights that were on in the shop across the road quickly turned off.

Survivors?

I looked at the sign before gesturing the girls over to me. "There's someone in that camping shop."

"There would be guns in there," Yoga Jones offered softly. "Along with some equipment that we'll probably need."

We all jumped when the shop door was thrown open, slamming against the wall with a loud bang. I looked up in shock which quickly turned to joy when I spotted Janae standing in there door way with a massive grin on her face. She'd changed her clothes for a pair of army pants, a black t-shirt and big black steel capped boots. Ammunition covered every inch of her body and she held a shot gun in her hands and had two more guns in holsters at her waist.

"Took you bitches long enough!" She laughed as she rested the shot gun on her shoulder. "Get the fuck inside and gear up. I found us a car!"

"Oh, thank God," I whispered, closing my eyes for a moment and taking a deep breath before I followed the other women into the store. I smiled at Janae as I passed her and she patted me good naturedly on the shoulder.

"You did good, Chapman, you did good."

/

Just over an hour later, all the girls had changed their clothes and were packing bags of provisions. I looked at myself in one of the cracked mirrors in the back room, feeling good to be out of my prison khakis. I was wearing a pair of black and grey army pants, a white tank top with two straps over my chest that held the two shot guns strapped to my back. I had two black, hand guns holstered on my upper thighs and two very sharp knives in each of my knee high black lace up boots. I had my trusty screwdriver in my pants pocket, along with one of the walky talkies that Janae had handed out to all of us, in case we were to get separated.

I packed my bag with a spare change of clothes, ammunition and some other bits and pieces, just like the rest of the girls. Janae had found us a large, eight seater black Jeep which she had filled with food she had taken from the local supermarket. I threw my bag over my shoulder and waited for the rest of the girls to finish getting ready before turning to Janae who was looking out of the doorway, checking that the coast was clear.

"They hardly ever come out in daylight," Janae said when I looked over her shoulder at the empty street. "I only ever seen one when the sun was out and I don't think it could see well. Didn't see me coming with an axe, anyway."

We followed her quietly to an alley, less than a block away and I was surprised when Janae offered me shotgun and not even Red said a word about it. I jumped into the passenger seat while Janae got in the driver's seat and the rest of the girls jumped in the back. There was move then enough room in the massive car, even with all of our stuff. I leant back in my seat and let myself relax for the first time in days, content to just let Watson drive and enjoy the fucked up scenery.

Though, in the back of my mind, my thoughts where still focused on Alex. I wondered where she was and if she was alone or if she had stayed with Nicky and Morello. I wondered if she was safe and if she'd found a place to change her clothes or if she was still wandering around in her khakis. I wished that I hadn't lost her when we were all making our run for it.

But I knew that no matter what, I would find her, if it was the last thing that I did.

**AN: Thanks for all the follows and favourites so far, I hope you guys are enjoying this story. It's going to get a whole lot more interesting from now on. Review and let me know what y'all think. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Four **

We drove for hours, through several empty, burnt out towns and didn't find another living soul. We caught glimpses of several of the undead, but in the day light, they didn't even notice the car passing them by. They hid in the shadows, like vampires that would burn in the sun light, only their eyes visible as they blankly stared forwards. I felt a chill race down my spine as we drove past a group of them, half hidden in an dark alley, making a meal of a corpse that looked like it'd been there for days. I had to turn away, despite my new role of being a bad ass, my stomach was still churning at the sight.

"Where we heading?" Poussey spoke up from where she was reclining in the back seat. The sun was finally starting to set as we drove down a long winding road that I knew would lead us back into one of the bigger cities. Janae had told me that she wanted to avoid New York, or anywhere where there would be officers of the law, but we hadn't decided where we would actually go.

"Away from here," Watson answered vaguely, her eyes, always vigilant, searching the road and the fields around us. "Anywhere that hasn't been infected yet; hopefully with a massive army base with lots of guns and bombs."

I looked out of the window, watching the sun as it disappeared, causing Janae to quickly put on her high beams. I scanned the countryside, noticing a sign that welcomed us into another town. Janae immediately picked up her shotgun and rested it on her lap, causing everyone else to follow suit and make sure their doors were locked. I took a deep breath, resting my hands on the two guns holstered on my thighs, squinting my eyes to try and see the town that we were heading into.

There were several gasps when we drove up the last hill and the town was on view for us. Half the houses were on fire and one of the first things I noticed was the white pick-up truck that had been pushed onto its side, burning brightly and outlining many fast moving forms. It was hard to tell who was infected and who was still human as people and undead alike screamed as they ran through the streets. I watched with wide eyes as we passed by the first few houses and Red rolled down her window, just enough for her to slip the barrel of her shot gun through, to immediately fire a round into the head of a passing zombie.

Janae showed no mercy as she drove through the streets, running over anything and anyone who got in our way. I tried not to watch, though my eyes were glued to the windscreen when seemingly out of nowhere, a large man jumped on the hood of the car, black liquid streaming from his wide open mouth. Everyone screamed, including myself as Janae suddenly slammed on the breaks, causing the zombie to fly off the front of the car and into the middle of the road. Janae didn't waste a second as she put the car back into gear, quickly driving over the man that was pushing himself to his feet.

I opened my mouth to speak, but my attention was quickly diverted when I heard a loud, shrill scream, followed by several curses. My head snapped to the side, my nose practically pressed to the window as I stared outside, looking for the owner of that familiar voice.

"Pull over!" I yelled as I spotted a flash of tangled red hair, half hidden behind a turned over car and surrounded by almost a dozen zombies. My hands immediately reached for the two shot guns strapped to my back, pulling them from their holsters.

"What the fuck, Chapman! I can't ju-"

"Pull the fuck over," I growled, my eyes wild as I turned to Janae. I heard Red agree with me from the seat behind me, but hardly paid her any attention as I stared at Watson. She returned my gaze for several moments before slamming on the breaks, our car skidding sideways before coming to a stop, only meters away from where the group of zombies were milling around the over turned car. I immediately opened my door, ignoring the protests of the women inside as I jumped out, whistling loudly and watching as half of the zombies turned around to face me.

"Fuck," I muttered to myself as a herd of undead immediately rushed me. I hardly had time to raise my weapons before the first one was almost on me. I fired straight into its face, not waiting to see if it stayed down before firing again. My half assed plan seemed to work as the zombies all raced towards me, leaving behind the car and the people I knew were hidden behind it. I took a few steps backwards as I continued to shoot, dropping my shotguns when they ran out of shells, and pulling out my hand guns, rather than reloading. I focused my attention completely on the zombies that were slowly surrounding me, aiming for their heads and almost always hitting my mark. I thanked Larry for all the times he took me to the arcade to play House of Dead, despite my lack of interest in it at the time. I dodged to the side when a man, missing an arm, ran at me from around the side of our car, and almost fell straight into a woman's arms. I elbowed her in the face, hoping to Hell that I didn't elbow her in the mouth as I shot the man right through the eye and watched him drop down immediately.

It was then that the car door opened, revealing Red and Jones, both holding shot guns. I noticed that Janae was leaning outside her window firing steadily at zombies that must have heard the noise and were now racing down the street towards us from every direction.

"Nicky!" I heard Red yell in between firing, as I semi wrestled with the woman I had elbowed in the face. "Get your ass over here, now!"

I realized that Red must have seen the same thing I did, the flash of Nicky's wild mane as she threw what I could only assume was rocks from her hiding place behind the car. I watched as her head popped up once more, but couldn't wait to see if she was alone or not as the zombie I was wrestling with attempted to sink her teeth into my arm. I growled loudly, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back before pushing my gun into her mouth and firing. I immediately let her go, watching as she dropped to the ground in a pool of thick blood before turning around to see not only Nicky climbing over the car, but Morello and Alex as well.

_Thank fucking God. _

My eyes fluttered closed in relief, but only for a moment before I was holstering my guns and picking up my shot guns from the ground. Without even thinking, I kicked out my leg as I bent over, feeling my foot impact something before straightening up and racing back to the car, not even bothering to turn around and check what I'd just kicked. I jumped into the passenger seat, reloading my shotguns just as Nicky skidded to a stop near the jeep, giving me a shit eating grin as she clapped me on the shoulder.

"Who woulda thought you'd turn out to be so fuckin' kick ass, Blondie," she laughed, her brown eyes sparkling as she shook her head. "You saved our fuckin' asses."

"Yeah, and if you don't get in the car, she'll be saving 'em again, so move it!" Janae growled from the driver's seat. She had turned around, away from the window where she had been shooting at the large group of zombies that were heading our way. Nicky nodded as she jumped in the back seat, followed quickly by Morello. I was still re loading my second shot gun when I felt a hand rest on my shoulder, causing me to look up and into those stormy grey eyes that I'd been dying to see for the past few days.

"Hey, kid." Alex said softly, her voice hoarse and even deeper than usual. She seemed relatively unharmed, with only a small cut over her left eyebrow and I breathed out a heavy sigh of relief when she gave me a small smile. "That's the second time you've saved my ass."

"Peace offering?" I half smiled with a shrug, ignoring Watson's frustrated growl and the impending zombie attack as I stared at my ex-girlfriend.

"You didn't have to jump out of the car and go all Resident Evil to get me in a car with you, you know." Alex smirked, letting go of my shoulder to readjust her glasses. "You could have just asked nicely."

I opened my mouth to reply, enjoying our familiar casual banter, but I was interrupted by Nicky sticking her head out of the door. "Come on, Vause, you can kiss and make up later. I don't feel like dying today."

Alex gave me one last smile, which I returned before she jumped into the now full car. Janae muttered a sarcastic 'thank you' under her breath before putting the car into gear and turning us away from the hoard of undead. We sped through the town and back out onto the road and I tried in vain to ignore the screams of the people we left behind. I turned my head, glancing at the women crowded in the back of the car and grimaced. There was now nine of us in an eight seater car which was also loaded with supplies. It was a tight fit to say at the least.

"We're going to need a truck at the rate we're pickin' up all these strays," Janae said, though she softened her words with a grin as she looked over her shoulder.

"Sorry about cramping your ride, man," Nicky smirked back, holding onto Morello who was sitting on her lap. "Bet you didn't expect to have to fit us in, eh?"

"It was inevitable," Janae replied, shooting a glance at me which I ignored.

"Yeah, Blondie's been looking out for you three," Red nodded, giving me a small smile.

"Practically grabbed the wheel from Watson to pull us over when she saw you guys," Poussey laughed from the back seat. "Janae woulda been lookin' like Jesus freak if she hadn't pulled over."

"Thanks, Chapman," Morello said sincerely while Nicky just nodded in agreement.

"No problem," I replied before turning my attention to Yoga Jones who was in the backseat between Poussey and Taystee. "Jones, there should be a black and red bag behind your seat. It's for our new travel buddies here."

Alex raised her eyebrow questioningly at me and I just shrugged. "I knew we'd find you and I figured you'd want to get out of that uniform when we did."

"Oh, thank fuck!" Nicky looked like she'd almost start crying with relief when Jones passed her the bag full of clothes. "I thought I'd have to wear these fuckin' khaki's for the rest of my life."

I turned back to face the front, a small smile slipping onto my face at the small amount of happiness that I'd just witnessed after an overall shitty day. My smile only got bigger when I felt a familiar hand once more rest on my shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze before letting go.

"You even got us all a change of underwear, Chapman," I heard Nicky say from behind me. "You're the fuckin' best."

"No more granny panties," Alex said and I could practically hear the smile in her voice. "Wait, there's a fucking _g-string _in here. Who's that for?"

If possible, my smile got even bigger, and maybe a little bit devilish.


	5. Chapter 5

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Five**

The sun had finally risen and it was a few hours after dawn as we drove in a large circle around New York City. The roads had steadily gotten busier the closer we came to the major city and we had passed several police cars and army trucks making their way towards the city that never sleeps. After spending the last few days awake, adrenaline fueling my body, I could feel the strain finally starting to wear on me now that my shock had passed. I had taken the wheel when Janae's eyes had started to droop just before dawn and now I was looking for a place where we all could rest. We had more than enough time to get some sleep while it was still daylight outside and then we could start all over again when the sun went down.

I looked in the rearview mirror, smiling gently at the group of women fast asleep in the back of the car. They were sprawled all over each other, heads resting on shoulders, legs on their neighbor's laps in Poussey and Jones' case. It was absolutely adorable and I wished that I had a camera or a phone to capture the moment. I turned my head to look at Alex who was sitting behind the passenger seat. Nicky's head was resting against her shoulder and Morello's head was in her lap, while the rest of her was sprawled over Nicky and Red. Alex was fast asleep; having been completely exhausted after spending the last few days on the run, and her cheek was pressed against the window, her lips slightly parted. I loved seeing her sleep, she always looked so peaceful.

I sighed, taking one hand off the wheel to rub my eyes as I drove down a hill that would lead into the next town we had to pass through. For once, this town didn't look like it had been completely destroyed and I rolled down my window, swallowing my fear as I pulled to a stop beside a cop car that was parked in the town's entrance, a man in uniform leaning against the hood of the car.

"Hi, there, ma'am," the man gave me a gentle smile and I smiled back immediately, grateful that he didn't seem suspicious of me or the car full of slumbering women.

"Hi, I was just wondering if there was anywhere around here that we could rest?" I asked kindly, trying not to wake the women in the car. Despite my soft voice, Janae opened her eyes blearily, reaching up to rub the sleep from her eyes and freezing when she looked out of the window and caught the man's gaze. "We've been on the road for several days and haven't been able to stop yet. Is there a hotel or anything around here?"

"Honestly, ma'am, this town is pretty much deserted," the policeman said, glancing from Watson then back to me. "But, you're welcome to stay at the hotel down the road. There are plenty of beds there that aren't being used and some food too, I'm sure. You look like you could all use a rest before moving on; it'll be safer that way. Just be sure to stay in a room near the stairs; have a quick way out if you need it."

"Thank you so much, officer," I gave the man my best winning smile, which he returned before putting the car into gear and driving forward. I let out the breath I had been holding, trading glances with a still wide eyed Janae.

"Fuck, woman," Janae breathed, scratching her fingers through her hair. "That was like waking up to a nightmare."

"I told you that the cops wouldn't be looking for us," I replied softly, searching the street for the hotel the policeman had spoken of and finding it on the corner. "Plus, why should they expect that we're convicted criminals? We're just a car full of women, dressed in normal clothes, trying to escape from a world full of shit, just like everyone else. Why would they bother with us?"

Janae hummed in agreement, smiling when she looked up at the building towering over us. We were just outside of New York City, so the town we were staying in was much bigger than the ones we had passed through. The hotel looked like something I would have stayed in when I was travelling with Alex, around thirty stories high and very high class. I parked the car directly in front of the side entrance to the building, before turning around in my seat and gently patting Nicky on the shoulder. She woke up with a jerk, glancing around before settling her eyes on me with a smile, waking up Alex in the process.

"Wake up the rest of the girls," I said, gesturing with my head to the hotel. "We're going to stop for the day and get some rest."

They both nodded and I turn away to jump out of the car, putting the keys into my pocket as I grabbed one of the bags that Janae passed me, throwing it over my shoulder. We waited until the rest of the women stumbled out of the car before I locked it and led the way inside with Janae next to me and Alex and Nicky close on our heels.

"Fuck me," Watson breathed as we entered the extravagant lobby and I couldn't resist a grin. The ceilings were so high over our heads that I had to lean my head all the way back to look up at it; the room was absolutely massive. The floor beneath us was polished white marble and built into the wall was a giant fish tank, though most of the fish were floating upside down in the water. We walked towards the large desk at the front of the room and I stepped behind the counter, looking at the keys that were hanging on the wall for all the rooms.

"Dude, let's stay in the pent house!" Taystee laughed to which I just shook my head.

"The elevators are off; do you really want to climb up all those stairs?" I asked her before taking three lots of keys from the wall. They were all on the seventh floor, not too high up but it would give us a good view of the city, so we would know if anything was happening. "Plus, we don't want to be too high up if we have to make a quick escape."

"Good thinking, College," Nicky smirked as I threw her one of the room keys. I passed another one to Poussey and was about to hand the last one to Red when Alex snatched it from my hands with a smirk.

"Each room has two beds, right?" she said with a grin to my surprised expression. "I'm sure Red would prefer to stay with Nicky and Lorna. Taystee can bunk with Poussey and Jones and if Janae doesn't mind, I can share a room with the two of you."

Janae raised her eyebrow at me as I fought to keep my face blank. "Okay, I'm sure Janae doesn't mind sharing a bed with me, right?"

"Not at all, Chapman," Watson played along, shrugging her shoulders nonchalantly. "Be good to know you're watching my back, even if I'm sleeping."

I threw a smirk over my shoulder at Alex, who wore an expression close to disbelief as we made our way to the stairs. I heard her mutter underneath her breath, something about God giving her strength to deal with frustrating blonde WASP's and I grinned to myself. We made our way quickly up the stairs, all of us looking forward to actually sleeping in a real bed for the first time in months and in some cases, years. I had found myself even missing my shared cube with Taystee while driving, even if the mattress was thin and dirty. It'd been days since I had been able to just close my eyes and let myself drift off without having to worry about being attacked or chased by the cops.

I watched in amusement as we opened the door to the seventh floor from the stairs and all the girls rushed past me to their rooms. I chuckled softly to myself as I watched Nicky unlock her door and uncharacteristically squeal in delight as she raced into her room with Lorna skipping delightedly behind her. I waited patiently as Alex unlocked our door, letting her and Janae enter the room first before following them inside. The room was just as beautiful as the lobby, with cream colored walls and stairs that led up to a loft that held two large bedrooms with king sized beds and separate balconies looking over the city. There was a black leather couch downstairs in front of a large plasma television and a kitchenette off to the side. The bathroom was large and luxurious, with a massive spa bath and a glass shower that reminded me of the one in Alex's old apartment, which could easily fit six people. I smiled, watching as Janae jumped on the massive bed in the room she had chosen while I dropped my bag on the floor, finally feeling the pent up tension leaving my body.

"Are you really going to stay in here with her?" I heard a voice whisper softly in my ear and I repressed the shiver that ran up my spine.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I turned my head to meet Alex's gaze. Her gray eyes were dark and smoky as she stared back at me, and she licked her lips briefly before giving me her best smile.

"Because look how happy she is," she gestured to Watson who was now sprawled out, spread eagled on the bed. "Give the kid a room to herself for the night. Bet she's never even slept in a bed that big, all to herself."

I sighed inaudibly, squinting my eyes at Alex before turning back to look at Janae, who had her eyes closed in complete bliss and a massive smile plastered on her face. Without a word, I picked up my bag, ignoring Alex's victorious grin as I pushed past her into the other bedroom, dropping my bag next to the bed and sitting down to unlace my shoes. I felt the bed sag behind me as my ex-girlfriend crawled into it; a sigh of contentment escaping her lips as she practically sank into the soft mattress.

"This is fucking Heaven," she said, her voice muffled as she pushed her face into one of the many pillows.

"It can't be," I said, slipping off my boots and sighing with relief before pulling down the blanket and climbing into the bed beside the brunette, making sure to keep plenty distance between our bodies. "If this was your Heaven, I would be Scarlett Johansen."

I heard her chuckle as I laid my head on the pillow, almost feeling tears sting my eyes at the softness beneath my head. I let myself relax into the bed, having not slept in something so comfortable and decadent since Paris.

"Scarlett Johansen ain't got nothing on you, kid," I resisted the urge to open my eyes at the nickname, feeling my lips involuntarily curling into a smile at her words. Alex had always had a way with words.

"Go to sleep," I replied, rolling onto my side away from the raven haired beauty, hoping that my traitorous body didn't try and seek her warmth while I slept. "Enjoy this; God knows when we'll sleep in a real bed again. And no funny business, Vause."

"On my honor, my lady," I heard her chuckle as I felt myself drift off to sleep.

/

_On your honor, my ass, _was my first thought when my eyes fluttered open. I tilted my head upwards, still able to see sunlight through the blinds and feeling relief that I hadn't overslept. I felt refreshed and more alive than I had in days, but I didn't know if it was from the sleep or the arm that was wrapped around my body and the hand that was molded to my breast through my thin tank top. Well, at least it hadn't been my body that had betrayed me.

We had always slept like this, years and years ago. No matter where we were or how tired, our bodies always found each other in the night and I would always wake up with Alex surrounding me. I felt her warmth seep into my body after what felt like years of cold and I couldn't help but smile. Despite how right it felt to be in her arms again, I carefully begun to extract myself from her hold, remembering the harsh words spoken to me before the Christmas Pageant.

I had saved Alex life twice but that didn't equal her forgiveness and I accepted that. I could see now what a colossal fucking mistake I had made and I knew I wasn't worthy of Alex's love as Tiffany had told me before I pummeled her into the snow. I had made my bed and now I would lie in it, as my father had taught me, without Alex's comforting arms surrounding me.

"Where are you going?" I heard Alex's sleepy mumble as I attempted to pull her arm gently from my body to no avail. She tightened her grip, pulling me closer to her and burying her nose in my hair and I was helpless to stop her. It felt so fucking good to be lying in her arms.

"I was _trying _to get up," I replied softly, taking a deep breath before reaching down to pry Alex's hands from my body. She would have none of it.

"There are still hours left before the sun goes down," the brunette said, nuzzling my neck and giving my shoulder a sleepy kiss. "You need rest if you want to continue this badass act. Stay with me."

For once, I didn't want to argue with her, but I couldn't resist asking. "Why?"

Alex knew me well and I knew that she heard all of my unasked questions in that single word. She shifted slightly, pulling me impossibly closer to her until our bodies were practically melded together. I sighed softly, letting my eyes drift closed as she gently caressed my stomach through my tank top.

"Because it's the end of the world, kid," she finally whispered, her voice soft and husky with emotion. "And it took the apocalypse to make me finally realize that I'm not ready to lose you. Not now, not ever."

Well, it wasn't exactly forgiveness but it was a damn good start.


	6. Chapter 6

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Six**

"Wake up, not lesbians!"

I jolted awake, bringing my arm up to shield my face immediately as I felt something land heavily on the end of the bed. I opened one eye, peaking through my fingers at Nicky, who was grinning back at me and eating from a packet of chips. With a groan, I let my head drop back onto the pillow as Alex stirred behind me, grumbling about crazy haired ex drug addicts.

"Hey," Nicky laughed, hitting Alex's foot through the blanket that covered us. "But I'm your favorite ex drug addict."

"You are," Alex agreed, her voice gravelly with sleep as she rolled onto her back, away from me. I immediately missed her warmth and she must have known it, instinctively, somehow, because she pulled the blanket over me before resting her hand just above my hip, caressing my skin softly. I smiled to myself before looking up and peeking past the blinds, frowning when I saw how low the sun was in the sky.

"Shit," I muttered softly. "We have to get out of here."

"It's all good, Blondie," Nicky said as she threw a bag of chips at me, narrowly missing my face. "Watson and Ma are grabbing supplies and gettin' shit ready, told me to come in here and tell you to relax until it's time to go. Janae said somethin' about you being awake for days on end and not eating much and you know you need food and rest if you're gonna continue being a badass, College."

I let myself relax back into the pillows, picking up the packet of chips that Nicky had thrown at me and opening it. I hadn't realized how hungry I was until I popped the first crisp into my mouth and my stomach grumbled greedily. Nicky laughed as I blushed while Alex gave me a disapproving look which told me she wanted me to start taking care of myself better. I shrugged my shoulders, popping another chip into my mouth before looking up at Nicky.

"I forgot to ask before but I only just remembered, where the fuck did you guys go when we got out of Litch and how did you get so far, so fast?" I asked with a frown, looking between the two women. They exchanged glances before Nicky nodded at Alex, indicating for her to tell the story.

"We ran into the woods after you," Alex started as she slipped on her glasses. "But it was dark and you and Janae were so fast and we lost you pretty quickly. Boo... had been shot down and Lorna was getting a bit hysterical and we stopped to catch our breaths and everyone was just gone. So we went back to the road and ran along the tree line and got really fucking lucky when we found a car with the keys still in the ignition."

"We didn't stop driving for a while," Nicky continued with a nod. "Finally got to that fucked up town just as it went dark and those fuckin' zombies attacked our car, rolled it right over!"

"That was _your _car?" I asked with wide eyes, remembering the abandoned car that had caught on fire at the entrance to the town. "The white pick-up truck?"

"Yeah," Nicky nodded. "So, of course, we got out and fuckin' ran for it and then hid behind that other car, but those fuckers found us."

"They must have smelt us or something," Alex added with a frown. "So, Nicky started throwing fucking bricks that had been broken when the car we were hiding behind crashed into that shop while I tried to calm down Lorna who was losing her fucking mind and then you showed up."

"I almost fuckin' cried," Nicky laughed, shaking her head. "When I saw you get out of that car, Chapman, I could have fuckin' kissed you, I swear."

"Glad we got there in time," I murmured in response, a small frown furrowing my brow as I thought about what would have happened if we hadn't gotten there in time. I didn't know what I would have done if we'd gotten there too late and they were dead; if Alex had been dead. I thought that maybe I might have just given up.

I mean, what was worth living in a world going to shit without Alex Vause?

I shook those dark thoughts from my head, looking up to find Alex staring at me intently, as if she could read my mind. She snaked her hand under my back and pulled me against her until my head was resting on her shoulder. I sighed, feeling the tension leave my body as I slumped against her, burying my face into her neck and breathing in her scent.

"God, I think I'm gonna puke," I heard Nicky say, pretending to retch and I could feel Alex smile from where her lips were pressed against my forehead.

"Shut up," Alex chuckled. "You haven't left Lorna's side since we got through Litchfield's gates."

"That's true. I was always a step behind her though," Nicky replied with a smirk. "That woman's got a great ass."

"Does she still want to look for Christopher?"

I looked up at this, watching as Nicky's grimaced with a shrug. "She tried calling him on the hotel phone but it went straight to voicemail. She's pretty pissed. He hadn't been answering her calls for a few days before we got out, either."

"Maybe he got eaten?" I offered, earning a full blown grin from Nicky.

"I can only hope, Blondie, I can only hope."

/

_Now, this is Heaven, _I thought to myself, smiling blissfully as the almost painfully hot water cascaded over my naked body. I had been itching to try out the hotel room's luxurious shower ever since I stepped through the door and I had finally managed to pull myself away from my bed to take a much needed twenty minutes to wash myself and clear my head. It felt as it all my worries were washing away along with the grime and dirt from my skin.

Getting attacked by Tiffany and killing her? Washed away. Escaping from Litchfield during a riot? Washed away. Finding out that the world had turned to shit while I'd been locked up? Washed away. My worries about my family, Larry and Polly? Washed away.

My fears, doubts, anger and confusion over Alex? Down the fucking drain, along with everything else, where it fucking belonged.

_Speak of the devil._

"I thought you said that you'd keep your hands to yourself?" I spoke without turning around, listening as the glass door to the shower opened and closed behind my ex-girlfriends presumably naked body. It had been _years _since I'd last seen her completely naked, unable to afford that luxury while being locked in prison. Even in the showers at Litchfield, I had only ever seen her with a towel wrapped around her body, exposing only small patches of the skin that I so desperately wanted to see and touch. I so badly wanted to turn around, to memories every inch of her skin and burn the image of her into my brain, but I didn't. I couldn't.

"I haven't touched you yet, have I?" Alex replied, her voice laced with amusement. I sighed inaudibly, turning my head to catch her staring at my body, gray eyes turned dark and stormy, and I felt a familiar tingle race up my spine because I remember the look that she was giving me. I had been on the receiving end of it hundreds and thousands of times, before prison and during.

"No, not yet," the words slipped out of my mouth and I caught her raised eyebrow before I turned back to face the spray of water. I ran my fingers through my hair, ridding it of the last few suds of shampoo as I felt her move closer, until I could feel the heat of her body a breath away from my skin.

And I thought that the water was hot.

"You're getting toned," her lips were so close to my ear that I felt the vibrations of her mouth as she spoke. I closed my eyes as she ran a long finger along my shoulder, tracing the new muscle that had been building since I entered Litchfield. I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could, wanting so badly to turn around and to throw myself into her arms, but I couldn't. I could feel Alex's lust, her desire for my body, like a thick fog surrounding me, but that wasn't what I wanted. I couldn't feel any love from her right now and while I knew that I didn't deserve it, I still wanted it. I didn't just want a meaningless fuck and as selfish as it was, I didn't want to be a binky, because I knew Alex was just scared. She was scared of being free, of living in a world where she had no connections anymore, not to mention the fact that it was overrun with zombies. And she was scared of going through it all alone.

And when Alex is scared, she always buries her feelings with sex but I didn't want to be the box that she hid her problems in.

"I'm finished," I finally spoke, grimacing at the huskiness of my voice as I turned around, not daring to look at the dark haired woman that stood before me. "It's all yours now."

I stepped around her, dodging the hand that reached for me as I opened the door and closed it behind me. I heard her call my name but I ignored it, just like I ignored the lump that was forming in my throat and the look Nicky threw me when I passed her on the stairs. It wasn't until I reached the room that we had slept in together and the door was firmly closed that I finally let myself feel the pain it caused me to turn away from her, again.

/

We were back on the road just as the sun set, watching through the car windows as many of the zombies that had been hidden throughout the city crawled out of their hiding places. It sent a shiver down my spine to know that we had been completely surrounded by the undead while we were sleeping. The further we drove, the more abandoned cars and bodies that we found, sprawled on the side of the road, bodies covered in blood. A few hours after sunset, Janae slowed the car, her dark eyes fixed intently on the side of the road and I turned my head to see what she was looking at. I watched with a mixture of horror and fascination as one of the dead bodies by the side of the road twitched before jerking violently. With an ear piercing scream, it's back arched and suddenly it was off the ground, turning its head to look at our car with blood shot blue eyes that seemed to pierce right through us.

I rolled down my window, picking up my shot gun from in between my feet, never taking my eyes off the man that was staring at me with cold blue eyes. Within seconds, he was running full pelt at our car and I pointed the barrel of my gun at his head, pulling the trigger when he was less than five feet away.

"Shit, girl," Janae breathed as the now headless zombie dropped to the ground, twitching, as I rolled up my window. "Still gives me chills every time you do that."

"Ditto," I heard Alex mutter and I caught her wide eyes from her seat behind Janae. I swallowed down the bile that had risen in my throat, turning to face the front without a word as Janae continued to drive. I had pushed the knowledge of what I was turning into to the back of my mind, unable to deal with the horror of it. I hardly even recognized myself anymore, even though I tried to reassure myself with the fact it was self-defense. I was protecting myself from these things, just as I had protected myself against Tiffany.

_You're far past the point of protecting yourself, _a little voice whispered in my head, _now; you're just killing people, just like you killed Tiffany. They may be zombies now, but they were people once and you don't even care. You're no better than they are. _

_Think about that next time you pull the trigger, darling._


	7. Chapter 7

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Seven**

**Until Dawn**

**Chapter Seven**

I leant against the hood of the car, my fingers wrapped firmly around the shotgun in my hands as my eyes searched the area around me. It was a few hours after midnight and we had stopped at a petrol station in the middle of nowhere so that we could fill up the car's fuel tank and the women could all have a break and go to the bathroom. I looked past the girls stretching their legs a few meters away, keeping my eyes on the darkness behind them. There were hardly any zombies away from the main cities, but that didn't mean there couldn't be one. We weren't that far from Pittsburg and I didn't want to take any chances.

"Hey, Chapman," Watson joined me, having filled up the tank and a petrol can that she had stowed away in the back of the car. "I know you've been asked this a hundred times already, but where _are _we going?"

I glanced at Janae briefly before turning my eyes back towards the road, a small frown marring my brow. Since when had I become the leader of our little rag tag group of women? "I don't know. Why is it up to me?"

Janae shrugged. "Well, I don't know about them," she gestured towards the rest of the group. "But I don't really got anyone on the outside and honestly? You've been kicking ass since we got out of the Litch, you know? You're smart, you know your shit and I know I'ma have a better chance surviving all this shit if I stick with you. So, wherever you're going is where I'm going."

"That's kind of romantic," I smirked, watching as Janae grimaced out of the corner of my eye. "Where you go, I go. So what, am I your Warrior Princess, now?"

"Well, like I said, you're kicking ass," Janae shrugged again, a small smile making its way onto her face. "And I don't got any problems being an Amazon Queen. That bitch be ripped."

I laughed, louder than I meant to, causing more than one head to turn in our direction. I found myself captured by one gaze in particular, a perfectly sculpted eyebrow rising in question as I chuckled. I just shook my head, causing Alex to turn back to her conversation with Nicky and Morello. I spent the next few moments watching my dark haired ex-girlfriend as she talked with our friends, the corner of her mouth turning up in a smile as she listened to Nichols speak.

With a sigh, I turned my attention back to Janae, who was watching me with a knowing smile; my lips quirked in acknowledgement, before I nodded towards the group. "I think we should vote. I've never been a favorite amongst these girls, and I don't want to add bossy to the list of negatives in my personality."

"I think it was already added, but sure," Janae said, pretending to rub her jaw to hide her smile. I scowled playfully at her, before whistling softly, causing the group of women to wander closer, listening intently as I started to speak.

"I know that a lot of you must be wondering what the plan is, now that we've escaped Litchfield and have been on the run for the past several days. I also know that some of you have been looking to me to answer all your questions," I let my eyes wander over the group, meeting their gazes for a moment before continuing. "But, unfortunately, I have no answers. I don't know what the plan is or where we're going, so, my question is, where do you all want to go?"

The group was quiet as they glanced between each other, their faces thoughtful and unsure. I knew that a lot of them didn't have family on the outside, at least not family that truly cared about them. Some of them didn't even have homes before they came to prison or a place for them to go, except for crowded half way houses. I waited patiently, my eyes focused just behind the women, particularly in the shadows where trouble could be waiting for us. I turned my attention back to the group when Red finally spoke up, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I do not think we are going to find anywhere here that is not full of the dead," she said quietly, to nods from the rest of the group. "I think our best chance is to leave. Get away and go somewhere free of people."

"I didn't know you could fly, Ma," Nicky said flippantly, earning a cold glare from the older woman.

"I cannot," Red finally shrugged. "But, we are all criminals, are we not? And some of us have more connections than others."

"If those connections aren't feeding on human flesh," I added quietly. "Not to mention the fact that those connections would have been some of the first people to get the fuck out of the country once all of this started."

"I could make some calls," Alex finally spoke up into the silence, readjusting her glasses as she looked around at the group before focusing her gaze on me. "I've tried at everywhere we've stopped, but the lines have all been out. I think if we were to get into one of the bigger cities though..."

Her words drifted off as I looked up and met her eyes, feeling as if a bucket of ice cold water had been thrown over my body. We all knew that the bigger cities were the most dangerous, completely over run with zombies. I knew that we might have a chance in the day light, but things could still go wrong. My mind instantly flashed with images of all the possibilities, and I assumed Alex must have been reading my mind, because she cringed as if she could see the horrors racing through my head.

People could die. We all could die.

I continued to stare at Alex, watching as her eyes softened as she looked back at me, hearing what I was saying without even speaking a word. _I don't want to lose you. _

_You won't_, the words were so clear in her eyes that I finally nodded, shrugging my shoulders as I turned back to the rest of the group.

"Does anyone have any better ideas?"

The silence was my answer.

/

I looked at the map that was spread across my lap, sitting in the back of the car for the first time since we started driving. I could see Janae was a bit perturbed by this, constantly glancing between Red and me as she drove. The Russian was sitting in the passenger seat, having been the only one with enough courage to take it when I stepped into the back of the car, without a word. I didn't want my friends to see me as the leader of the group. This was not a dictatorship, it was a democracy.

I was sitting in between Alex and Poussey, with Nicky sitting directly behind me and Lorna seated in her lap while Jones and Taystee sat on either side of them. I was staring at the map, trying to figure out which city we should stop in. Pittsburg was still only a few hours away but Washington was more likely to have a working phone, but it was a much longer drive.

"What do you think?" I asked, leaning forwards in my chair and directing the question at Janae who glanced at me before turning her eyes back to the road. "We could be in Pittsburg in a few hours, or we could keep going to Washington."

"More chances of a phone in D.C," Janae replied thoughtfully to which I nodded with a sigh. "But that place is gonna be overrun and you know it."

"Yeah," I muttered, running my fingers through my hair. "I don't really want to take the chance, but if we could actually get in contact with someone that could help us, wouldn't it be worth it?"

"No way of knowing if we will find working phone either," Red responded with a frown. "But what choice do we have? If there's a chance, we must try."

"Wise words, Captain," Janae smirked, playfully wincing when Red smacked her lightly on the arm. "But I agree with you, we gotta try."

"Yeah," I sighed again, leaning back in my seat as I passed the map over to Red. I closed my eyes, feeling as if the weight of the world was on my shoulders. It only lasted a moment before an arm wrapped around them instead, the tension disappearing as I was pulled against a warm, strong body. I almost immediately relaxed; quite involuntarily as I felt fingers caress my shoulder, soft lips pressing against my hair in a kiss that made a shiver race down my spine. I wanted to pull away but instead, I let myself soak in the comfort that was being offered to me, if only for a little while.

Well, it looked like we were walking into Hell, but at least I was in good company.


End file.
